Apple AirPods to be available “in the coming weeks”

At the beginning of last September, coinciding with the presentation of the new iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus and the second generation of Apple Watch, Apple presented its AirPods, bluetooth headsets that generated great expectation, as well as criticism.

At the same event, the company announced that AirPods would be available by the end of October, then came October, November, and nothing was released. The company argued that it wanted to launch them when they were ready and now, thanks to Tim Cook’s response to a customer’s email, we know they are as close as “in the coming weeks”.

Apparently, the release date of Apple’s new and expected AirPods might be closer than many thought, and yes, I am among the skeptics, or at least that is easily deduced from Tim’s own words Cook, who has responded directly to the email that a customer had sent him.

In that response message, Cook expresses his expectation that the expected AirPods will begin to be shipped “in the coming weeks”.

As we said, after the removal of the 3.5 mm jack connector on the new iPhone 7 and the presentation of these AirPods, it was expected that this new audio accessory was launched throughout October, not to spend much time after launch iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. Specifically, the company noted “late October” as the time of availability.

However, almost at the end of that month, Apple confirmed that the launch of the AirPods was going to be delayed because work was still ahead and its goal was to launch the product when it was fully completed. Now, a month after that announcement, it seems that this delay may be nearing an end, and that the company could launch the awaited headphones just in time for the consumerist Christmas rush.

It is not unusual for consumers, annoyed in this case, and perhaps with some reason, to address directly to the Apple CEO to express their complaints about the delay in launching a product. In fact, I would love to know where this user got the email from Tim Cook, or if it has been forwarded by some support department to the CEO. But in any case, it is still less common for such mail to get a response with information unknown up to that time.

But apparently, this is what happened on this occasion, and the disgruntled user has received a response from Tim Cook who, although he has not specified an exact date for the launch of the AirPods, he has provided something more Information. Specifically, this is the question and answer:

[Customer’s Email]: Give us a release date. I really bought in to the wireless vision you painted. Now I’m stuck waiting with my EarPods but can’t charge my 7 at the same time which I need to do at work. Let us know if it’s a month or 6 months, because then I’ll just buy some other wireless headphones.

[Tim Cook]: Thanks for your note. Sorry for the delay—we are finalizing them and I anticipate we will begin to ship over the next few weeks.

It is not clear what Cook is talking about exactly “finishing” them, but the truth is that they were ahead. If Apple felt ready to present them on September 7, to announce an almost concrete date, and to be receiving orders that customers have paid, maybe there has been some problem with the production of AirPods that, for the moment, We do not know

In any case, if this email is authentic and Cook’s response is too, then we could see AirPods in time for Christmas.